-
AVCHD Legality for commercial use??
Greetings,
I’m in the market for a new video camera, and the AVCHD offerings, such as the HMC-150, are very tempting for bang for the buck, but I’m concerned with the “legal” issues when doing work for pay, ie TV commercials and such. I’ve read the MPEGLA stuff, and lots of forum stuff, but just can’t make sense of it, other than if I buy that camera and use it for commercial use I’m breaking the license law.
What I really want is the HPX170 for the DVCPro HD codec’s better color, lower compression and easy timeline voodoo in FCP 6, but I’m wondering about that codec’s license, too, as far as legal questions when shooting for money.
Any thoughts on this stuff are very welcome!
Tim
-
10 Replies
-
You can shoot with any camera for broadcast. Better cameras for better pictures, but there’s nothing in the license to use the codec that prevents you from shooting with it, then charging for said shoot. Broadcast or not.
Jerry
Apple Certified Trainer, Producer, Writer, Director Editor, Gun for Hire and other things. I ski. My Blog: https://blogs.creativecow.net/Jerry-Hofmann
Current DVD:
https://store.creativecow.net/p/81/jerry_hofmanns_final_cut_system_setup8-Core 3.0 Intel Mac Pro, Dual 2 gig G5, AJA Kona SD, AJA Kona 2, Huge Systems Array UL3D, AJA Io HD, 17″ MBP, Matrox MXO2 with MAX – Cinema Displays I have a 22″ that I paid 4k for still working. G4 with Kona SD card, and SCSI card.
-
Thank you, Jerry, for your reply. I was hoping that was the situation, but I’ve read so much about the AVCHD stuff that I just wasn’t sure, then began wondering about the other codecs. In past years I’ve shot TV commercials with a Canon XL2, and the license thing never crossed my mind, just didn’t know much about the newer regs, etc.
As for cameras, the lesser expense but decent opinions of the HMC150 may well be the deciding factor, but we do get what we pay for so I’m still chewing on it all.
Thanks again!
Tim
-
Honestly I would recommend that you look into a DSLR camera for shooting video. The control you get over the lens opens SO many more possibilities.
**Hindsight is always 1080p**
-
Thanks, Zane, that option still exists even while looking at dedicated video cams. I have a ton of Nikon glass, and though they do offer some decent options right now I’m very curious, as is the rest of the world, as to what Nikon will offer in the next big round of DSLR models. D800, or whatever it’s called, may well be the ticket, so I’ll probably just wait and see what comes along. I don’t have an immediate need, so I do have the luxury of waiting, which is nice for a change!
Tim
-
Hi Timothy,
When you buy a camera or a NLE part of the price is to pay your right to use the supported codecs.
rafael -
Thanks, Rafael, that’s what I thought but when I started reading the AVCHD stuff I was pretty confused. Still am, but I’m gonna move forward and not worry about it. There’s enough to worry about with this game!
-
Timothy,
The camera’s that you use do affect the quality of work, but having owned both the 150 and 170, I can recommend both for local broadcast work. If in the future, your able to build up to doing work for the major national and international networks, (Discovery, Learning Channel, the BBC etc.) you will have to meet certain standards including acceptable camera lists which must be followed.I would wait until after next week to make up your mind, because of NAB is next week (The National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas,) There may be some major announcements about new cameras from the major manufacturers. This could affect you in two ways: new models could drive the current cameras down in price, and new technology could mean a better camera for a lower price. I personally would like to see prosumer genre camera’s that shoot ProRes (the editing codec of choice for FCP) without the need of an external box.
At any rate the HMC-150 and the HPX-170 are both decent choices for local broadcast work
don walker
texarkana, texasJohn 3:16
-
Please excuse the bad grammar in the previous post!
don walker
texarkana, texasJohn 3:16
-
Good stuff, Don, thank you for reporting your own personal experience! And your other ideas about waiting and ProRes are good, too. As in the still game, these shows do open the gate for new stuff, which is fine, I’m not in a huge rush.
Those two cameras are almost the same thing mechanically, just with different protocols. I really like the idea of DVCPro HD as a shooting format, but the much lower cost of the 150 and its features simply are too hard to ignore. I’ll see what goodies come along once the show is done.
I know, maybe there will be an HPX180 that shoots 4:4:4, Leica zoom equiv. 20mm-450 or so, 4 ND filters, all the usual trinkets and a built in 250gb SS drive chipset. And all for $3.5K. I think that’s reasonable.
Thanks again!
-
Didn’t notice, read pretty clean to me!
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up